Within my eyes
by Palanmetiel
Summary: Harry is in his 5th year in Hogwarts. New characters emerge and Professor Severus Snape seemed to have been smitten. This is my first fic so please read.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: The Potterverse/Harryverse/etc belongs to J. K. Rowling  
  
Any names, objects, spells, and characters you don't recognize from the books are mine. ^^  
  
Don't forget to review!  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
Thunder rumbled ominously overhead the large, fine-. looking manor sitting atop a cliff  
  
overlooking the ocean. Dark clouds quickly gathered.  
  
Lightning flashed dangerously and waves crashed noisily onto the cliff walls. Trees swayed jerkily and bent back and forth as swift winds rushed past.  
  
A storm was brewing quickly.  
  
A large Oak teetered dangerously towards the front door.  
  
It was near midnight.  
  
The house was all dark except for a window on the second floor, a lamp was on, a young girl was holding a long bronze flute and leafing through a music book as though searching for the perfect piece to play. A small strange white creature scurried out from behind her music book and edged toward the window. It lifted its nose into the air and sniffed, it shivered and cringed, as though it sensed trouble. Suddenly lightning flashed across the sky with a deafening "CRACK!" Then the lights went out and the small white creature scurried away in fright. There was silence except for the heavy pitter-patter of raindrops. It had started to rain. Then without warning, the front door burst open with a loud "BANG!" that echoed throughout the manor followed by the sound of a violent struggle coming from the first floor. The young girl quickly pocketed her flute as the small white creature jumped up to her shoulder, she started towards the door with fear and anxiety all over her face. She rushed down the large, elegant stairway to the first floor as the noise of the struggle became louder. "Let go of me! Let go! I'm innocent!" Horrible screams reverberated throughout the manor. "Father! Father!" the young girl cried. She ran to her father's study, where his yells where coming from, and let out a terrified gasp. Her father was struggling against the hold of three burly Ministry of Magic wizards who were trying to subdue him quite roughly; his study was a complete mess thanks to the struggle. "Father-what's going on?!" she wailed in a petrified voice. She started towards him but before she even took two steps forward, she was grabbed roughly on her right arm, she shrieked in shock. It was another Ministry of Magic wizard trying to hold her back from her father. She tried to reach her father with her free hand but he was just too far, watching helplessly, the ministry of Magic officers half-dragged him towards the front door. "No! Father, wait! Please come back , father!" She sobbed while tears waterfalled down her cheeks. Suddenly the small white creature bounded from her shoulder to the Ministry of Magic's shoulder and bit him hard at the side of his neck. He gave an ear-splitting yell and he let go of the young girl's arm and grabbed his neck in pain. The small white creature quickly returned to the young girl's shoulder as she ran after her father and let out a horrified scream when she saw what was waiting outside the front door. It was a tall, dark dementor chaining her father's hands and dragging him outside with the Ministry officers following after them.  
  
"Father don't leave me! Come back! Don't leave me!" she screamed, following them outside and was slowly losing sight of him because of the heavy rain.  
  
"Don't worry!," her father called out. "I'll come back for you! I promise, I'll come back!" he extended one of his already chained hand towards the young girl and she reached out for him with her own.  
  
"You-you promise?" She sobbed, completely soaked by the rain and shivered slightly. Their fingertips touched for a moment then suddenly, there was an ear-splitting "CRACK!". She whipped around and saw that the large Oak near the front door fall towards her. She screamed as the Oak came crashing down on her and everything went black. 


	2. Seek

Note: Some parts of this chapter is from the points of view of different characters. POVs jump back and forth. Hope you don't get confused! ^^  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Have any idea who our Defense against Dark Arts professor will be? Harry asked one of his best friends, Ron Weasly, as they stepped out of the Hogwarts Express.  
  
"I dunno," Ron said. "But Dean Thomas told me it'll be vampire…"  
  
"And you believe him?!" Hermione Granger, Harry's other best friend raised her eyebrows as she too stepped out from the train .  
  
"Hey it'll be kind of cool too, you know to have a vampire for a teacher-"  
  
"Cool!? It'll be dangerous!," Hermione interrupted Ron loudly "What if he harms us? What if he turns us to vampires too, huh? What if-"  
  
"Calm down, Hermione! I think Ron was just kidding," Harry assured her, laughing while Ron gave him a thumbs-up sign. "I doubt it that Dumbledore will allow a vampire to be our professor."  
  
The three friends moved along with the crowd of Hogwarts students towards the group of horseless carriages waiting to take them up to the castle. They waved to Hagrid who was rounding up all the first years for their traditional journey across the lake. They boarded one of the carriages and was about to snap the door shut when they heard the sound of running feet and someone's call. "Hey wait up! Harry, wait!" It was their classmate Neville Longbottom with a pack over his shoulder, he scrambled aboard, slightly breathless. "Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were after me." He explained after seeing Harry, Ron and Hermione's puzzled faces. He sat beside them, catching his breath. "What d'you do? Tie their shoes together and glue their pants to their seats on the train?" Ron asked with a laugh. Harry laughed too as he imagined the scene. Hermione, however remained serious. "Whatever did you do, Neville?" she asked as the carriages started moving.  
  
"Well, I accidentally spilled paint on the floor and they slipped and fell on it." Neville said sheepishly. Harry and Ron burst into more laughter. "And what on earth were you doing with paint on the first place?" Hermione asked. Neville went slightly pink, "Um, I've been taking painting lessons over the summer, and well, I thought I should bring some of my materials to school to, um, practice." He said shyly but there was a touch of pride in his voice. "Here, I brought a painting I did, let me show you…." Neville searched for it in his pack while Ron, Hermione and Harry watched curiously. "Here, um, do you like it?" Neville asked hesitantly. He had pulled out a medium sized frame, in it was a oil painting of a fruit basket. "Wow, it's so beautiful," Hermione breathed out, gazing at the painting.  
  
"Yeah! Look at how the colors blend with each other," Ron added, staring at the painting intently, as if he was seeing something beneath it. "Neville, I never knew you had such talent!"  
  
Neville smiled proudly. "Yeah, you see I used a special kind of paintbrush and I take…." Harry didn't really listen when Neville went on about his painting, and continued examining the painting, it was so beautifully done… he was about to comment on it when he felt a strange prickly feeling at the back of him. He felt as if he was being watched, he spun around suddenly, looked towards the side window and saw a carriage travelling beside theirs. Its curtains were drawn but still he could see a figure, it was the shape of a person, and it was looking right at him. There was also a small white animal Harry never seen peeking from the window too.  
  
"So Harry, do you think Neville can become a professional painter?" Ron's question distracted him and Harry turned around.  
  
"Huh? Oh, um, yeah……" Harry managed to say and he turned back towards the window and saw that his carriage had overtaken the carriage of the figure that was staring at him, it had fallen behind. Harry tried not to think about what had just happened, he didn't need something strange in his thoughts right now, especially on the first day of his 5th year in Hogwarts.  
  
"Oh come on guys, I can't become a professional painter, I just started painting this summer!" Neville exclaimed.  
  
"I don't mean now, I'm talking about the future." Ron replied then he pointed at the painting, his finger traced its thinly painted outline. "Do you have a technique to do this? I mean, it's so straight, the texture's right, it looks so perfect!"  
  
"Perfect?" Neville blushed slightly at Ron's praise. "Actually, I don't think it's really perfect, I had a hard time doing…." He broke off suddenly, looking up from his painting. "Neville? Neville is there something wrong?" Hermione asked slowly, seeing that there was no distractions or whatsoever inside the carriage.  
  
"Do you- do you guys hear something?" Neville asked, looking around.  
  
Ron and Harry shook their heads  
  
"Hear what exactly?" Hermione asked back.  
  
"Music- a melody…" Neville replied as though he was not sure of what he was hearing.  
  
"Music?" Hermione raised her eyebrows. Ron shrugged while Harry looked at Neville strangely. The carriage was utterly silent.  
  
"Um, what kind of music, Neville?" Hermione asked, straining her ears for any sort of sound but still there was none.  
  
"A soft and gentle melody….." Neville frowned. "Don't you guys hear it?" he stared at his friends curiously.  
  
"Neville," Harry said slowly. "Are you sure you're-"  
  
"Oh, never mind," Neville abruptly interrupted him. "It's gone."  
  
"Gone?!" Ron burst out. Then he laughed. "Neville, we haven't even heard anything!"  
  
"Never mind, maybe it was just my imagination that's all. Forget about it." Neville told them assuringly, then he grinned. "Now where were we? Ah yes, the outline….." And Neville continued on about his painting and the different techniques he uses. A few minutes passed and the carriage came to a stop.  
  
*****************  
  
There was a party at Cornelius Fudge's mansion that night. Guests danced gracefully in the grand ballroom wearing exquisite gowns that made them look like elegant ornaments as they traveled along the floor with their partners. The Minister of Magic was sipping wine beside the buffet table and talking to one of his guest when a young lady wearing a beautiful black dress politely excused him from his conversation and whispered something in his ear. Cornelius nodded and discreetly pulled out a small brown envelope from his pocket and carefully gave it to the girl who nodded back. The envelope went quickly in her hidden pocket. Both acted secretly, as if not wanting to be noticed. Cornelius bid the girl good luck before she headed out the large front doors. She wore a black outfit that barely clung to her. Thin straps ran behind her slender neck and held the bodice in place. Despite her bare shoulders, sleeves covered her arms from mid-biceps to her wrists and a runner of wispy material flared out into a triangle shape on each arm. She moved gracefully yet secretive and mysteriously as she passed the many couples who were waltzing and hurried outside, grabbing her black trench coat from the golden coat hanger that was beside the door. Nobody noticed her leave except the Minister and the figure hidden in the shadows who was watching from outside the window. As soon as the girl stepped outside, the stranger too retreated furtively.  
  
  
  
Ayumi Byrne was startled out of her reverie by a gust of cold wind as she stepped outside from Cornelius's Manor. Shivering, she pulled up the collar of her coat slightly and made her way down the street silently. She had been thinking about the special and very important job Cornelius had given her . She was to deliver a really important document, it was about the present whereabouts of You-Know-Who and also instructions to the Dementors of Azkaban. A lone street light greeted her on the corner and she turned to take a shortcut through a muggle junkyard. She walked along the fence to the double gates. A padlocked chain held the two gates together but not very closely, because the chain was loosely wrapped. She squeezed through the opening easily, and slipped into the junkyard. Her eyes had had plenty of time to adjust to the dark, but the darkness in the junkyard seemed a little deeper…. as if it had a little more dimension. And something in the darkness moved. To another person, she would appear to be nothing more than a young woman taking a shortcut, a young woman who didn't mind that it happened to be through a junkyard. But the movement in the darkness knew better. It was pitch black as she passed numerous strange shadows of the many muggle garbage, giving her a intimidating atmosphere. Nevertheless, she tried to ignore the creepy figures which seemed like claws reaching for her.  
  
Silly, they're just muggle junk  
  
She followed the dirt road that led to the exit at the end of the junkyard and was wondering how much longer would she have to walk to reach it when she heard the most peculiar sound. She stopped abruptly. There was silence around her. She frowned, she was certain that she heard extra footsteps behind her but they had disappeared when she ceased walking. She decided not to turn around to see if she was being followed.  
  
Only idiots walk directly behind the person they're stalking  
  
She told herself and continued walking, waiting if she would hear the footsteps again. Just as she expected, there was extra footsteps coming behind her, they were faint and subtle but Lara knew they were there. She slowed her pace and put her hand in her right pocket .She felt her Enfield MKV113 Revolver and gripped it. She whipped around swiftly. No one was there. She smirked, she had expected this, after all a stalker is not suppose to show himself right? He was suppose to wait in the shadows and surprise her…..  
  
Suddenly something flew out from the darkness behind her, reflexively, she whirled around, pulled out her gun and fired. A tin can with a bullet pierced at it's center fell to the floor.  
  
Huh? A can?  
  
She stared at it, bewildered.  
  
I was scared of a can?  
  
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Perhaps she just imagined the whole thing, the footsteps, the stalker? She returned her revolver back into her pocket and started walking again, scorning herself for her 'hallucination'. She was tired from the party after all. She had just taken two steps when her stomach sort of clenched up.  
  
Wait a sec, who the hell threw the can then?  
  
And without warning, she was knocked to the ground roughly.  
  
A distraction! I can't believe I fell for it! How can I be so stupid!?I should have known that someone would be after it! She scolded herself. Someone from a resistance group against Cornelius maybe. And you had to take the shortcut through a dark junkyard!  
  
She staggered to her feet and saw no one.  
  
Instinctively, she put a hand on the envelope she was suppose to deliver in her pocket. It was still there. She let out a breath of relieved.  
  
"You know, only cowards hide in the dark, afraid to face their opponents," She scoffed, trying to reel her attacker into her visibility. "I know you're after the Minister's documents,"  
  
A reply came from the darkness, though it was below a whisper and she couldn't make out any words. She didn't know whether it came from her right side, her left or from behind. This annoyed her.  
  
"If you have something to say, you say it to me, buddy!" She shouted.  
  
And to her surprise, someone did come forward. He stood for a while just beyond the pool of light, his feet in the circle of illumination, the rest of him in shadow. She watched him come fully into her vision, his eyes glinting in the light. He had black hair, stylishly messy; giving him a cool tousled look and high cheekbones, and the deepest, darkest black eyes Ayumi had ever seen.  
  
They're so so-intense…  
  
.She thought as she stared into his piercing eyes. They were icy and expressionless yet Ayumi found quite- alluring? He was well-dressed in black robes with red lining along the collar and sleeves and was carrying something long in his hand. It was a long and sharp. It's deadly silver blade gleamed and sent shivers into Ayumi's spine. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, silent and waiting. Then he suddenly lifted his sword in front of him and before Ayumi could react, something unexpected shot out from it. It was light. A brief flash of light, Ayumi was blinded by it then the next thing she knew, she was hit by a powerful force and was thrown back. Cold night air hissed past her ears and her hair blew in her face as she flew through the air. She slammed into a tree and was unconscious before she hit the ground.  
  
  
  
  
  
He watched her fall to the ground limply. A small white envelope fell out of her pocket. He hurried towards her, laid down his sword and knelt beside her. He brushed her hair from her face. She was out cold, her eyes closed and was breathing peacefully. Her young face was striking, having the most beautiful smooth and pale complexion. He was distracted for a moment then turned his attention to the envelope. He pocketed it and reached for his sword and stood up. He watched the young woman for a while but she did not stir as he hoped.  
  
Should I stay to see if she's all right? No, I better be on my way, the sooner I leave, the better, I have what I came for anyway, and besides, I have to go somewhere else now…..  
  
He knew that it would be a while before she wakes up and he turned to leave. He took a few steps forward and was about to apparate when he heard something. A whisper  
  
"Shin-no-ippo,"  
  
He turned around and was startled when he saw that the girl had regained conscious and staggered weakly to her feet.  
  
  
  
"Shin-no-ippo," Ayumi repeated and winced. That was what he had used on her. The ancient Japanese sword technique that focuses the swordbearer's energy onto the sword itself. It was nearly impossible to execute much less perfect it. The technique was used to knock the opponent out for a while without leaving any lasting injuries. It was not really a physical attack , it releases a what you call a strong energy wave towards the opponent. It didn't make Ayumi knocked out very long for some reason but it made her back and head ache. Her vision was unclear although she could still see the man's figure in front of her. She swayed slightly, trying to regain her balance, feeling completely winded and dizzy.  
  
"The sword style that focuses one's power and energy directly into his sword and releases it to his opponent, disabling them and knocking them out but without physical injury. I always thought it only existed in legends and books," She said quietly.  
  
"I did so too," The man admitted. "Until I had an almost fatal encounter with it,"  
  
"It's an old Japanese technique isn't it?" Ayumi recalled all that she had read about the ability.  
  
"Totally ancient, already forgotten by most actually, not much people use it maybe because not much have mastered it," He told her. Of coarse, except for the old geezer I met before and I,"  
  
Ayumi hated the touch of pride in his voice but still, she could not help but admire him for perfecting such an old but powerful sword style. She noticed something white poking out of his pocket and immediately knew what it was.  
  
"Give it back," She demanded, feeling a bit more steady and regaining some strength.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I can't," He said casually.  
  
"Give. It. Back!" She yelled the last word.  
  
"I'd return it but I've been instructed to take it from you," He leaped onto a large pile of junk. "Bye, you have a good day now," He smirked and quickly disappeared over the edge of it. Ayumi ran after him, jumping across the mountain of junk and landed lightly at the other side. She met no one.  
  
Had he apparated already? And so fast too….  
  
There was a rushing movement behind her. Ayumi automatically spun around and delivered a powerful kick.  
  
Her foot found the target half a second before her eyes and smashed into a shoulder. The man groaned .She tried to follow through with her hands but the he had already grabbed her right forearm and threw her off balance. He jerked her toward him and twisted her right arm behind her. Clutched her throat tightly and held her close. She struggled to break free and found it impossible. She felt that her arm was about to break from his crushing grip.  
  
"Determination. I like that." He sneered into her ear and squeezed her throat even harder. Ayumi ignored the fact that she was having a hard time breathing and summoned all her strength. She swung her right foot heavily upward. It slammed onto his forehead. He grunted in pain and loosened his grip on her instantly. Ayumi took advantage of him and did three things simultaneously. She stabbed her left elbow into his stomach, twisted out of his arms and gave him a clean uppercut. The envelope flew out of his pocket and she plucked it out of the air. He snarled and lunged at her but she slipped out of his grasp once again and ran like hell to put as much distance as she could between him and herself. A huge stone wall loomed in front of her. She made a quick decision and leaped onto a nearby crate, launched herself through the air, grabbed a nearby oak branch, swung over the wall and onto another mountain of junk.  
  
A huge mountain of junk sitting atop a rather steep hill.  
  
And the man was already there waiting for her. Ayumi groaned inwardly.  
  
Why did he have to be so fast?  
  
In a blur, he sped towards her at top speed, his sword drawn in front of him. It glimmered just as it past her face. She had skillfully dodged it, she heard the man curse under his breath as he passed her. Several dark brown locks of hair fell to the ground. He skidded to a halt meters away from her.  
  
Okay, so he hadn't entirely missed me after all. Thank goodness he just got a couple of my hair. But still…  
  
"Leave the hair alone!" She screamed and pulled out her gun and pulled the trigger but he was faster than she thought. Way faster. In another blur, he rushed towards her with inhuman speed like a steel ball fired from a cannon. His feet had left the ground even before her bullet left her gun and he shot passed it. His sword was not outstretched, but instead, his left hand, and it grabbed hold of her throat once again and shoved her towards another pile of junk behind her. She lost her gun as his hand tIt took all of Ayumi's remaining strength to grab hold of his left hand on her neck and swing him around so that it was he who was going to crash into the pile of junk instead of her.  
  
  
  
  
  
And he did. His back smashed into the junk in full force. Pieces of junk showered over him and the girl, who had slipped out of his grasp.. He felt that every single bone in his body had snapped and when things seemed that it couldn't get worse, his feet went wild under him. He had lost his balance and was about to plunge down the steep hill into a sea of more junk. He clawed the air desperately, searching for something to hold on to. The girl was still in front of him looking dazed and tired, her arms over her head, whimpering in pain as mounds of junk continued falling on them. Seeing her distracted, he latched his hand onto her arm, pulling her down with him as he toppled over the edge of the hill.  
  
  
  
  
  
Metal, plastic and all sorts of muggle objects fell onto her head, Lara put her arms over her head, shielding herself from the debris.  
  
Ouch! Ouch!Ouch!  
  
Ayumi moaned in her head and was wondering when the shower of junk would stop when something had clamped on the arm.  
  
The hell?!  
  
And she went over the edge, plummeting downwards with the man. They tumbled, rolled and tramped down the hill of junk. Ayumi found herself caught in a crazy whirlwind of scenes, at first it was the black sky that she saw, then it sharply changed into heaps of junk then into the man's face, this replayed over and over her eyes as they refused to stop rolling.. Surprisingly, he was still holding her as they stumbled down. Pieces of junk jabbed and hit both of them, a rather large piece of scrap metal grazed Ayumi's cheek while a broken muggle flashlight jammed onto the man's left eye, he cried out in pain. Ayumi grabbed her cheek instantly with her left hand as she felt the scrap of metal leave a cut, she had forgotten that she had the envelope in her palm and it escaped from her grasp. She quickly snatched wildly in the air trying to find it again which was quite impossible as she hadn't stop rolling yet. A plastic office chair collided on her knees and a toaster walloped her hard on her abdomen, nearly knocking her breath out when her left hand grabbed onto something. It was a huge slab of rock jutting out from the sea of garbage, she pulled out of the man's grasp and held on. Her surroundings immediately ceased turning upside-down and she was lying facedown on the ground. She exhaled explosively. Unfortunately, that was not the case for him. He continued tumbling downwards.  
  
  
  
He still had his sword in his hand, from the moment he fell and until now, though he was not aware of it. It was just when it appeared right in front of him and gave him a nasty slash over his right eye that he noticed he was still holding it. He let go of it immediately, he could not control his arms at the moment and could 't risk injuring himself again. There was sudden sharp CRACK in the air, like a gunshot but he ignored it. He felt a surge of pain suddenly and was wondering where in his body was it coming from when he lost his hold of his sword. He saw it fly into the night before he banged his head hard on something huge and he was forced to close his eyes. Everything was blurry at first when he finally opened his eyes but it quickly cleared. He sat up and groaned. He had slammed into a large maple tree at the bottom of the hill. It had stopped him but now he had a huge headache and he didn't have to wonder why. He brushed a knuckle gingerly over his gash on his forehead and winced. It was bleeding freely. To his surprise the white envelope was right beside him . He tried to forget that the gash on his forehead hurt like hell and stood up then found himself headfirst in the dirt. His legs had given way and he turned to inspect them. He flinched at what he saw. His right leg was broken. It was truly a disgusting sight. There was no blood or anything but it was twisted in a way that no leg should ever be twisted.  
  
So that was the sickening crack I heard earlier.  
  
He groaned again.  
  
Ayumi laid on the ground for a moment, moving her arms and legs carefully. She did a mental checkup on her condition.  
  
Ok, no broken bones, I still have my head and my brain, just a few cuts and scrapes, hmmm, no big deal.  
  
Before she could stand up, something silver fell from above and shot past her face, just inches away and plunged deep into the ground. She shrieked and jumped up. It was a long silver sword. She recognized whose it was and picked it up. She whirled around and stomped towards the owner, fuming silently. The man was sitting beneath a large maple tree clutching his right leg. She smirked. Not only did he have a huge cut on his forehead that was freely pouring blood but it looked like his right leg was broken too. "Ha! That broken leg serves you right, mister!" Ayumi scoffed. "Looks like you can't run away anymore"  
  
"Ha! Look's like you don't have the envelope anymore" He retorted in a disdainful way. He picked up the envelope, waved it mockingly to the girl then shoved it in his pocket. The girl's face contorted with anger and lunged towards him with his sword in front of her. Seeing that he had to escape before she reached him or he would become headless, she was about a kilometer away, he quickly reached in his other pocket for his wand. His hand found nothing in his pocket.  
  
Time to shift into panic mode! Where could have my wand gone to?  
  
The girl was now has a kilometer away and is also in a rage. He searched frantically around him. His wand was perched atop an old muggle TV set to his far left. Thinking quickly, he got the nearest object to him, a broken eggbeater, and flung it to his wand to knock it down so hopefully it would roll towards him so he could disapparate in time. His wand did drop from the TV set, but to his horror, it was rolling towards him as if it had all the time in the world, and unfortunately he didn't. The girl was closing in him fast, the space between the blade she was holding and himself was 5 meters while his wand, a meager three feet but traveling like a turtle. He threw himself towards the wand, his hands frantically reaching for it. When the girl was a only a meters away, she leaped high into the air, and with some sort of battle cry, brought his sword upward. His wand was a foot away, then half a foot, then centimeters, then just millimeters….  
  
"You're not getting away, you bastard!!" The girl shrieked in mid-air and brought the sword down on him.  
  
At last his fingers touched his wand and he disappeared just a second before the sword could have  
  
slashed him in half. 


	3. Mesmerized

Don't forget to review! Thanks in advance! ^^6  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville reached the Hogwarts castle and soon students were climbing out of their carriages and heading towards the castle. They together entered the castle then went to the Great Hall were they found their seats amongst the other fellow Gryffindors. Professor McGonagall was leading the First Years into the Hall for the Sorting Ceremony just as Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Ron. He pointed towards the table where the teachers occupied.  
  
" No one new there," he said quite disappointedly, then he brightened. "Hey, Snape's not there! Woohooo!"  
  
"Shhh!" Hermione said. "The Sorting's about to start."  
  
Harry watched quietly as Professor Mcgonagall made the First Years form a line, took out a long piece of parchment from her pocket and called out names.  
  
"Androse, Gail"  
  
Harry wondered why Snape was absent, could it be that he was finally fired or that he quit after missing the Defense Against Dark Arts position for four consecutive years? His head whirled with the thought.  
  
A miracle! At last, Hogwarts without Snape! His head was then filled with great ideas on what to do with his newfound freedom:, sneak into Hogsmead every night;  
  
go exploring in the Forbidden Forest whenever he wished to;  
  
he wouldn't lose about a fifty house points everyday;  
  
no one to side with Draco Malfoy………  
  
His thoughts was suddenly interrupted when Professor Mcgonagall called out a name that made him respond automatically.  
  
"Chang, Naru"  
  
Professor Mcgonagall had already reached the 'Cs'and a couple of First Years had already seated in their new house tables.  
  
"Chang? As in Cho Chang?" Harry asked Ron hurriedly.  
  
"Guess so," Ron shrugged. "Must be her younger sister I think." And Harry glanced quickly at the Ravenclaw table and saw Cho Chang looking at the Sorting Ceremony as if she was waiting for someone. Naru Chang must be her sister and Harry turned his head back to the Sorting Ceremony quite reluctantly.  
  
It must have been a very hard year for Cho, he thought, thinking about what happened last year. Cedric, who was murdered by Lord Voldemort last year (and Harry knew about that very much, maybe way too much) had been Cho's partner during the Yule Ball. I hope Cho's sister will get sorted in Ravenclaw too, so that she might be able to help her sister cope with that incident, Harry thought solemly.  
  
He spotted a girl walking towards the battered Sorting Hat and was shocked at what he saw.  
  
For being Cho's sibling, the young girl looked nothing like her older sister at all. In fact, she didn't look like she was eleven at all. She had two ear piercings on each ear and two black studs were on them. She wore a red band on her forehead, there was a Chinese character written in black at the middle. Harry wondered what it meant. Because of her accessories, she looked older than her age, more mature and serious but still she was very pretty. Yes, she had silky black hair like her sister, thick and shiny like a raven's wing. She looked Asian too but what disturbed Harry was her facial expression as she walked up to the Sorting Hat. She didn't have the bright, warming smile of Cho, the one that Harry learned to love and was expecting but instead she was scowling, looking irritated as if she didn't want to be there and was just forced to be there. She had higher cheekbones than Cho, Harry noted. A more pointed nose and the creamiest complexion Harry had ever seen, Harry's eyes traveled up her face then stopped abruptly. She had looked into his own green eyes sharply and he suddenly felt as if he were paralyzed. He was staring at deep black eyes just like Cho's but they were bitter, so frosty, no warmth at all. Those eyes gave Harry an uneasy feeling, he never ever seen such frighteningly cold eyes on a young girl in his whole life and he was forced to look away from them. He glanced at Ron to see what his friend's reaction was. Ron's mouth was hanging open, his eyes also fixed on Naru as she sat on the three- legged stool and put on the Sorting Hat. Hermione was speechless too, in fact most people were. None could believe that she was actually Cho's younger sister. She probably sat on the stool for 1 and a half minute before the Sorting Hat finally screamed: "Slytherin!"  
  
Harry let a loud gasp. He quickly covered his mouth and glanced around but no one had noticed anyway. They were all still staring at Naru. She had gotten off the stool, rolling her eyes as if she didn't give a damn that she was just sorted into the house where a lot of bad wizards had come from, in fact, she acted that she didn't give a damn about anything at all. She walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down beside Malfoy.  
  
Harry saw Malfoy say hi but she ignored him, putting her elbows on the table and placed her chin on her palms, looking really bored. Draco scowled and turned his back on her, muttering "Snob!" under his breath. His chair gave way suddenly and he landed on the floor with a loud THUMP! Naru snickered while Draco picked himself up from the floor looking around sheepishly, half of the students were staring at him, most of them also giggling, it wasn't everyday you saw braggy Draco Malfoy fall. Professor Mcgonagall shot him a stern look as he had interrupted her. Naru sneered as Draco climbed back to his seat, he looked at her warily.  
  
"McKinnie, Aust". Professor Mcgonagall continued and the boy was sorted into Ravenclaw.  
  
Harry was still staring at Naru, wondering how such a pretty girl could look so angry and so mean, she gave him the impression that she was of the rebellious sort, those people who go around looking for trouble or deliberately causing them.  
  
"Schweitzer, Cy" Professor Mcgonagall said and a girl with several red streaks on her dark brown hair walked forwards. She was sorted into Slytherine and Naru gave a loud whoop from wear she sat.  
  
"Oh yeah! Finally, a decent person in boring old Slytherine!" she cheered, punching her fist into the air as Cy joined her table.  
  
Everyone stared at her loud outburst, Professor Mcgonagall's jaw dropped open, it was obvious that she never encountered a First Year act like that in her entire stay in Hogwarts.  
  
She cleared her throat: "Miss Chang, we do not cheer or make any sort of noise during the ceremony, First Years especially as they would want to make a good first impression to their teachers."  
  
"Yeah, but isn't that just being plastic?," Naru replied loudly and a few people gasped, they didn't expect a First Year to answer back a teacher, especially after being told off. She continued in a matter-of-fact tone: "Plastic or- well, fake, you know people who act like what they actually aren't, just to please other people. I don't care if I make a good impression or not, all that matters is that I act like myself and I'm sorry that you didn't like what I just did but this is the way I am. This is me."  
  
A few people nodded their heads in agreement and Harry found himself nodding with them too. She had actually made sense and he admired her for standing up for herself regardless of the consequences. He had known Professor Mcgonagall for a long time and judging by her reaction at Naru's statement, (she had gone still like a statue, her mouth still hanging open), she would probably take a round of 100 points from Slytherine. And if that wasn't enough, other teachers probably agreed with her, Naru could possibly be expelled.  
  
'She didn't even last a day in Hogwarts' Harry thought.  
  
Cy clapped her hands, the sound echoing throughout the Great Hall which was silent after Naru's little speech. Naru grinned at her. "And most of all, isn't the school suppose to let the students express them-"  
  
"Shut up!" Draco hissed at her. "Just shut up or you'll get us all in trouble!" A few Slytherines shot her dirty looks.  
  
"Well, exccccuuuuuuse me!" Naru exclaimed, shooting a haughty look back at them, most of it was directed to Draco. "Pardon me for exercising my freedom of speech!"  
  
Cy leaned over and whispered something in her ear, then they both giggled and smirked at him.  
  
This time it was Draco who rolled his eyes, together with some other Slytherines.  
  
"Scull, Thisbe" Professor Mcgonagall had recovered and she chose to ignore what had just happened and continue with the again interrupted Sorting. Most students were whispering among themselves, obviously still discussing about Naru. Hermione herself leaned forward. "Talk about having a real attitude! Who knew Cho's sister could be such a tough cookie."  
  
"Looks Cho's not too happy about it and I don't blame her," Ron gestured towards the Ravenclaw table. Sure enough, Cho looked both embarrassed and angry with her sister's behavior. She had a tint of pink on her cheeks and she looked like she wanted to strangle Naru too. Naru was acting casually, as if talking back to a teacher was something normal, she was now having a gabfest with Cy, snickering and whispering.  
  
'At last,' Harry thought. 'Normal 11 year old girl behavior'  
  
"Weintraub , Monique" Professor Mcgonagall called out and rolled up her parchment. A girl with strawberry blond hair tied in pigtails walked up, she was then sorted into Hufflepuff. The Sorting was finally done and Dumbledore stood up to talk. The Hall went automatically quiet, except for two certain persons. Naru and Cy were still talking. Professor Mcgonagall glared at them and both became reluctantly silent.  
  
"Welcome to yet another year in Hogwarts!" Dumbledore announced cheerfully. We haven't even started with the Feast but I have already seen some prominent personalities that will make this year, well, interesting." Everyone knew that he was talking about Naru and Cy but his tone was neither mad nor accusing, he glanced at the two girls and a twinkle shone in his eyes as though he was just amused at what just happened earlier. "You may think that the Sorting is over but it is actually not," he said.  
  
"Huh? What's he talking about? Of coarse the Sorting's finished!" Ron exclaimed  
  
"Shhh! Let him finish!" Hermione told him. He was not the only one who reacted though, the Hall was filled with small whispers.  
  
"Yes, I repeat, the Sorting is not done yet," Dumbledore addressed the crowd. "Our very special guest hasn't been Sorted yet, our guest is someone who will be joining us this year so I ask each one of you, students, staff and ghosts, please make her stay pleasurable." And with that, he nodded to Professor Mcgonagall who nodded back. She left, using the door located at the back of the Hall.  
  
"She is a very special child, you see, she had suffered greatly in her past and encountered many difficulties but nevertheless, she was able to overcome them all bravely," Dumbledore continued. "She may surprise you all with her personality so please accept her hospitably and avoid from giving her feelings of indifference."  
  
Harry simply nodded, curious about the new guest while Hermione and Ron spoke out at the same time:  
  
"Ooooh, I wonder who could the special guest be, I really hope she's nice!"  
  
"I didn't understand a word he just said,"  
  
Hermione gave Ron one of her Looks.  
  
"What?" Ron said with fake innocence.  
  
Hermione opened her mouth, about to tell Ron something when the back door opened and Professor McGonagall stepped out. She nodded to Dumbledore again.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me introduce to you our new member of our Hogwarts family," Dumbledore told the crowd in a very formal voice. "Let us all welcome…" He paused dramatically for a second, "Iris Ingebrigtsen!"  
  
And a raven-haired girl stepped out from the back door. Several people craned their necks in order to have a good look at her. She shook Professor McGonagall's hand then went directly to Dumbledore. Harry hadn't seen her face yet since her back was turned as she shook the Headmaster's hands but judging by the students who were facing her, they were all looking amazed, some boys looking dreamy, Harry had the idea that she was awfully pretty and couldn't wait to see her face.  
  
"Awwwww, I can't see her face!" Ron craned his neck even more  
  
"Be patient, I'm sure she'll turn around," Hermione assured him.  
  
Dumbledore was still talking with her, a warm and welcoming smile on his face while the Gryffindor boys waited in suspense for her to turn around.  
  
"Hey, where's Neville?" Hermione asked suddenly.  
  
That was when Harry noticed that their friend was missing from the table.  
  
"Wasn't he here awhile ago?"  
  
Ron shrugged, still staring at Iris.  
  
"Oh looking for Neville?" Dean Thomas spoke up, sitting beside Ron. "He went to the hospital wing just a few minutes ago, said he wasn't feeling well. He looked really pale if you ask me,"  
  
"He went by himself?! Maybe we have to go and see if he's ok…." Hermione started but the Sorting Hat interrupted her.  
  
"Gryffindor!" it screamed.  
  
"Hey Harry, she's heading this way!" Hermione told her friend who was still talking with Dean about Neville's sudden sickness.  
  
"I swear he looked fine when we all came inside…."  
  
"Harry, Harry! She's heading to our table! Look she's coming now…" Ron said excitedly.  
  
"Who's coming Ron?" Harry asked, still facing Dean.  
  
"Iris! She's been sorted to our house and she's coming to join us!" Hermione replied, beaming just as Ron spoke: "Wait a sec, are her eyes really like that?"  
  
Harry heard footsteps behind him a he spun around and let a inaudible gasp. He found himself staring into bright lavender eyes. Iris's eyes were eerily pale and so light that it was almost white, it made her looked like she had no pupils at all.  
  
She held out her hand to Harry and shook it, "Pleased to meet you, I'm Iris Ingebrigtsen. I hope I'll have a good time here in Hogwarts."  
  
She had a warm and friendly smile and a gentle grasp, though her haunting eyes unnerved Harry a bit. Harry felt those eyes were staring right through him. He was about to say hello when Ron cried out:  
  
"B-b-but you're blind!!!!!" 


	4. Anticipated

Chapter 3  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, you don't like blind people?" Iris said, there was a slight disappointment in her tone. She shifted her gaze to Ron.  
  
Hermione kicked Ron's ankle from under the table, glaring at him, apparently angry about his rude outburst. People were now staring at Iris, some standing to see if she really was blind. Harry too, stared at her, it was hard to imagine that she was blind, she was able to walk around normally, without difficulty, and just a minute ago, how was she able to know that Harry was there? In fact, if Ron hadn't opened his mouth, Harry would never had the idea that she was blind.  
  
"Ummmm, n-n-no," Ron stammered, he felt queasy staring into those pale lavender eyes.  
  
"I like blind people, um really, it's just that I didn't expect a pretty girl like you to be blind."  
  
Iris smiled. "Straight trees have crooked roots,"  
  
"Huh?" Ron said.  
  
"It means that nobody is perfect, Ron," Hermione replied, smiling at Iris. She shook her hand. "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger, I'm sorry for my friend's rude remark," She glared at Ron who rolled his eyes.  
  
"Do sit down and please forget about what you just heard, Ron didn't mean to hurt your feelings, he can be such a jerk sometimes." And with that, Hermione guided Iris to her chair between her own and Harry's while Ron pouted.  
  
"Thanks, Hermione, but I don't think Ron's such a jerk," Iris replied.  
  
Ron looked at her. "You don't?" He smirked at Hermione.  
  
"Most people have reactions like that, they're just not used to seeing a blind person, but it's no big deal, I'm already used to it anyway."  
  
"Please, please, please don't give Iris a hard time fitting in, she's just as normal as all of us here so I expect you to treat her well," Dumbledore said, looking at students sternly which caused them to quiet down and return to their seats. "Iris is actually an orphan, she came from a far- away place just to be here with us so make sure her stay here is a memorable one, I hope all of you understand her situation,"  
  
Most students nodded and Dumbledore gave the signal to start the feast. Food appeared on the tables and chatters could be heard as the students talked with their classmates whom they have not seen for long time.  
  
"Here's your spoon and fork, Iris," Hermione said as she gave them to Iris. "What would you like to eat? There's chicken soup, turkey, garlic- sautéed shrimp-"  
  
"Excuse me but it's alright Hermione, I can serve myself," Iris interrupted her.  
  
"No, no, I insist, you don't have to give yourself a hard time, you know," Without waiting for Iris's reply, Hermione started piling up food in Iris's plate.  
  
"Oh, um, thanks then…" Came Iris's reply but then a small creature leaped out of her pockets and onto her plate.  
  
"A rodent! Aurgh!" Hermione cried out. The animal was pure white and certainly looked like big rodent. Hermione edged away from it, it had started to nibble the carrot bits in Iris's plate.  
  
"No, Hermione, it's alright, it's just my pet ermine, Jade," Iris told her and she scooped the rodent into her palms and cuddled it.  
  
"Your pet ermine? Is it friendly?" Ron looked at it curiously while Hermione glanced at it apprehensively.  
  
"Yeah, she's friendly, go ahead and touch her," Iris held her pet out to Ron and he slowly brushed his fingers across Jade's fur.  
  
"Ooooh, she's so so soft!" Ron said while the other Gryffindors watched him eagerly.  
  
"Can I feel her too, Iris?" Lavender Brown asked shyly.  
  
"Me too! Me too!" Parvati Patil called out.  
  
"Sure and don't worry, she doesn't bite," Iris added. Hermione's face remained doubtful.  
  
"Well, alright, I'll touch her too…" Hermione said.  
  
"Ahhh, her fur's so soft, she's so cute!" Hermione breathed as she patted Jade's head. Iris gave a proud smile. Suddenly, the front doors to the Great Hall burst open, startling most people. Harry himself jumped and Ron knocked over his glass of pumpkin juice. The ermine too, gave a startled squeak and buried itself again in Iris's pocket. Dumbledore quickly stood up to see who it was. Raindrops dashed inside as the door remained open. Harry could tell there was a storm raging outside. An earsplitting clap of thunder sounded and Ron knocked over his glass of water. No one seemed to mind though. they were all looking at the man that arrived. Tall and hooded with a robe, it reminded Harry of a Dementor. He shivered slightly. The stranger closed the door. He slowly removed his hood and a young face emerged from within. With tousled black hair, high cheekbones and intense black eyes, the stranger caught and held the attention of many. Yet there was something familiar in him….  
  
"Hermione?," Iris said, her head turned towards the stranger. "Who is it?" "I-I don't know-" Hermione stared at the man curiously, like the rest of the student body. Whispers filled the Hall. They were silenced when the man walked towards the headmaster. "I'm sorry I'm late Professor Dumbledore." The man said, greeting the headmaster in a way that told everybody they were old friends. "I was just- you could say-delayed." And he offered his hand. Dumbledore took it wholeheartedly and shook it. "Welcome back, welcome back." He said warmly then he beckoned him to a empty chair beside him. "Come and sit down. Join our feast." Harry had a feeling that he was a expected guest and was still racking his brain on why the man was so familiar- he remembered him from somewhere…. Then it hit him- it was those deep, profound eyes that gave the man's identity away. "Ron, Hermione! That's- that's-" Harry sputtered but before he could finish, the doors burst open again. All heads turned towards the young woman that came running in. Her delicate almond-shaped eyes reflected beautiful golden hazel in the lights. She had rich dark brown hair that flowed down to her shoulders. With a perfect ski-jump nose and lush and full lips, her face was stunning. Though there were a some horrible cuts and scrapes on her skin, some of them bleeding freely, she still looked fine. At that moment she seemed slightly out of breath and exhausted. Her attention was not focused on the people staring at her nor the headmaster but on her dirty and crumpled black dress. Smoothing her dress down quickly, she walked towards Dumbledore and ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry I'm late Professor Dumbledore. I was-you could say- delayed by some-"  
  
She stopped, staring in shock at the young man that stood in front of Dumbledore. "You!?!?" They both yelled, pointing at each other.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" They continued.  
  
"I don't know about you, but I'm a professor here." They spoke at the same time in an arrogant tone then their faces changed into similar looks of outrage.  
  
"What do you mean you're a professor too?!?!" They turned to Dumbledore looking very scandalized.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore, she's the one that delayed me-"  
  
Professor Dumbledore, he's the one that delayed me-" They both began.  
  
"Professor Ayumi Byrne, this is Professor Severus Snape, Hogwarts Potions Master. Professor Severus Snape, I want you to meet Professor Ayumi Byrne the new assistant potions mistress."  
  
Both professors gaped at each other in disbelief after hearing that they were colleagues  
  
The students too stared in shock as they realized that the young man was their Potions Master.  
  
Professor Snape gave Professor Byrne his famous loathing glare, the same one that he always reserved for Harry Potter. Professor Byrne returned it with one of her own, if looks could kill, why, poor Snape should have been dead and buried. 


End file.
